Sony Pictures are ready to obtain the rights for the upcoming book “Hunting ‘El Chapo’: The Thrilling Inside Story of The American Lawman Who Captures The World’s Most-Wanted Drug Lord,” which was written by Cole Merrell and Douglas Century.

El Chapo, who was extradited to the United States in January, is a Mexican drug kingpin famously known for his prison breaks. He worked as the leader the Sinaloa Cartel and is deemed the “most powerful drug trafficker in the world” by the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Guzman was the infamous leader the Sinaloa Cartel, considered the “most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world” by the U.S. Department of Treasury.

From 2009-2011, Forbes Magazine listed Guzman as one of the most influential individuals in the world.

Sony set to obtain the rights for the upcoming book on ‘El Chapo’

El Chapo, who gained his nickname based on his short stature, was apprehended in January 2016 by the Mexican authorities after he twice escaped from prison.

Guzman was first detained in Guatemala back in 1993 and extradited back to Mexico. He escaped from a maximum-security penitentiary in 2001 in Jalisco, Mexico after bribing prison guards.

He was once again captured in 2014 Mexico but managed to escape for a second time through a tunnel underneath the shower area of his cell in 2015.

One year after his apprehension, the Mexican government subsequently extradited ‘El Chapo’ to the U.S. to face criminal charges in Brooklyn Federal Court.

According to the Hollywood reporter, 3 Arts Entertainment will produce the movie. Director Michael Bay is at the top of the list of directors. There is another project in the works that is a fictional version of the El Chapo story based on the book titled “The Cartel” by Don Winslow at Fox.